The present invention is directed to bicycles and, more particularly, to a bicycle hub dynamo with a freewheel that is adapted to support a plurality of sprockets.
The hub disposed in the center of a bicycle wheel typically comprises a hub spindle detachably and nonrotatably mounted on the bicycle fork (or frame), a hub body rotatably installed on the hub spindle, and bearings that rotatably support the hub body on the hub spindle. The hub body usually includes a pair of axially spaced hub flanges for coupling to the wheel spokes.
Sometimes a dynamo is housed inside the hub body, wherein the dynamo functions as a power supply for lighting or other applications. By incorporating the dynamo inside the hub body, generating efficiency is improved and resistance to wheel rotation is reduced relative to dynamos of the type that contact the wheel rim. Since conventional hub dynamos are used primarily for lighting applications, the dynamo usually is installed in the front hub of the front wheel so as to be near a headlight and to reduce the length of wiring accordingly.
More recently, electrical power from hub dynamos is used to power on-board electronic components in addition to headlights, and the distance from the front hub to the location of the electronic components, which may be at the center or rear of the bicycle frame, may be considerable. As a result, long electrical cables may need to be run along the bicycle frame. Longer electrical cables result in greater resistance in the cables, thus resulting in undesirable voltage drops and reduced power delivering efficiency. Furthermore, the area between the handlebars and the center and rear portions of the frame already is wired with brake cables, gear shifting cables, etc. Thus, routing additional cables for powering remotely located electronic components complicates the wiring scheme and clutters the bicycle frame.